Reference no: EM132799252

SCENARIO

A group of employees at Spruce Paper Company recently finished a major project that involved multiple departments, from creative to distribution. The goal of the project was to develop a new line of holiday cards.

Rita has been leading the project from day one. She is a senior member of the marketing team and has been with the company for 15 years. Rita is responsible for managing multiple departments composed of diverse team members with a variety of backgrounds and skill sets.

It is ultimately Rita's responsibility to set goals for the group, delegate tasks, and ensure the project is finished on time and within budget. Although Rita values the varied opinions, experience, and perspectives of all her team members, she tends to rely heavily on the expertise and opinion of Nimish. Because they have worked together in the past, she trusts him and gives him a lot of responsibilities. Rita relies heavily on Nimish to deliver progress updates on tight deadlines.

Rita's frequent deference to Nimish makes some of the other team members feel that she favors him. Rita tries not to show favoritism by consulting the whole team before moving forward with the decisions she and Nimish have reached.

1. What is Rita's status, the position she holds within the group, and what is her role, the behaviors expected of someone with her status?
2. How did Rita's status or role impact how she engaged and collaborated with others to complete the project?
3. Which type of relationship-building strategy did Rita demonstrate? Be sure to provide evidence from the scenario and profile.